Posted in Uncategorized

A New Beginning

Posted on by Jackie B

It’s been a strange sort of weekend. We were supposed to be going to a ball on Saturday, but Storm Dennis knocked that on the head. The event was to have been held in a marquee and the weather forecast was dreadful. It was simply not safe to proceed. The ball will now go ahead (fingers crossed) two weeks later the originally planned so I have two more weeks to agonise about what to wear.

They say that every cloud has a silver lining. Not going to the ball, like some sort of reverse Cinderella, meant that we’d be able to go to a leaving party for dear friends who are moving to Australia. This was arranged quite recently and we had our tickets for the other do, but all’s well that ends well.

Our friends, H and D, are moving to Australia this week, to join their two daughters. It’s a huge step. They have sold their home and got rid of all their possessions, staying in temporary accommodation for the last couple of weeks while they close down all their affairs here and say their goodbyes.

I’ve known them since I first moved to Northumberland 17 years ago – they moved here from Tyneside 22 years ago. We were all involved in the local drama group and have remained firm friends ever since. H and I used to have regular Friday evenings together over a bottle of wine, sometimes with our daughters around (mine is the same age as H and D’s younger daughter).

H is very creative and I’ve mentioned on the blog before that she writes, with one book , Secrets and Guardians, already published online and two more in production. I’ve worked closely with her on these on the editing and publishing process. With more work to do on these we”ll still be in regular contact.

The party was lovely and rather emotional, hosted by lovely mutual friends. Everyone brought food so we had a massive feast. There were lots of photographs taken and hugs given.

As most of the Ukeladies (as we call our ukulele group) are also long-standing friends of H and D too we decided to do a short cabaret at the party and picked a small selection of appropriate songs with a leaving/Australian theme. We only decided the set on Thursday night and had little time to practice but we did it.

After our little recital (with much raucous singing) H and D made a lovely speech about how they have loved living in the village, having such good friends and making such great memories, then the party continued into the night.

I’ll miss them very much – D is one of the kindest, funniest men I know and H is one of my dearest friends – I shall miss her vivid imagination, wisdom, and the laughs and hugs we’ve shared. I’m getting quite tearful writing this!

But to be positive! They may be far away, but I will see them again later this year. Their younger daughter gets married in October and my daughter and I are planning to go to the wedding, and take some time afterwards to have a holiday to visit other parts of Australia. It’s quite an adventure to look forward to.

Meanwhile, good luck H and D! We wish you every success and happiness in your new life in Australia.

Posted in Uncategorized

Scone of the Week #8

Posted on by Jackie B

Today’s Scone of the Week is from Bari Tea on Narrowgate, Alnwick. Bari (pronounced bar-ee) is a Northumbrian dialect word meaning” lovely” and this is indeed a lovely tea shop. They refer to it as a tea brewery and it really is all about the tea, whether you want to sit and drink it on the premises or buy some to enjoy at home.

Unlike some places, where the tables are crammed in, there is enough room to move around (especially when you rock up on a disability scooter as I did). They serve things like cakes and scones, soup, filter coffee and very nice hot chocolate……and a comprehensive range of teas – the tea menu is quite lengthy.

There are some quirks that make you smile when you visit Bari. The toilet is twinned with one in Kenya(!) and all the staff on duty are named on a blackboard.

It was a quiet weekday lunchtime so only the “Maitre T” and the “Teas Maid” on “Sconage Duty” were named.

Our scones were really good – we got the last cheese and mustard one, which had a lovely flavour and gorgeously crusty top, and a sweet sultana one with just the right amount of fruit. Both were good-sized rustic hunks of scone, soft and crumbly without being dry. They were served with pats of butter on a tiny dish, (no foil wraps to fiddle about with), though it was hard from the fridge and hard to spread. Another little dish held a generous dollop of strawberry jam.

Mum ordered a pot of breakfast tea, with arrived in an earthenware pot with a timer and a receptacle with tongs to remove the tea bag when the allotted brewing time had elapsed.

I am not (and never will be) a tea drinker – I simply don’t like the taste, so I opted for a hot chocolate (they also serve filter coffee). My drink was lovely too – a piece of proper chocolate on a stick (two kinds available), to melt into hot milk, served with grated chocolate on top and mini marshmallows on the saucer: heaven!

The staff were really helpful and friendly too.

Situated in the part of Alnwick that is popular with tourists, sometimes referred to as the Castle Quarter (close to Alnwick Castle and surrounded by other small independent shops), Bari Tea is well worth a visit if you are in town, especially if you like tea.

Posted in Uncategorized

A Quick Crochet Headband (and a Covering of Snow)

Posted on by Jackie B

I remembered that I’d promised to make a headband for my hairdresser’s little girl the last time I was getting my hair done. I’m there on Thursday so I thought I’d better do something

Fortunately it didn’t take me very long at all (it was made on quite a chunky 5mm crochet hook). The pattern was a free one on Ravelry – the Turban Knot Headband by Olivia Kent of Hopeful Honey. I used an oddment of bright pink double knitting from my stash. It was delightfully quick and easy to make once I’d established that the pattern uses US terminology. (American double crochet is a UK treble and it follows that a US half double is a UK half treble).

I hope D and her little girl like it – I’ll ask if she’ll take a photo of the headband being modelled to post on here – if she does I’ll update the post.

Here in Northumberland we seem to have escaped the ravages of Storm Ciara. It has been very windy and the sea was raging but we haven’t sustained any damage that I’m aware of. We certainly haven’t had the floods and raging seas experienced elsewhere in Britain. although the sea has been fairly rough. K took these photos on Sunday (he’s a much better photographer than me).

It tried to snow overnight and it hadn’t melted on the hills so this was the view when I set off to go to Newcastle for choir today.

We had snow showers on and off all day and I drove most of the way back in a blizzard, but it cleared before I reached home. I thought it would be interesting to stop and take a photo in the same spot .

I thought the hills would be snowier but apart from the sky looking more interesting, with the late afternoon sun disappearing behind a bank of cloud, there doesn’t look to be much more snow. You can see the slush on the road though, and further up the road you could see where the snow had blown on to the trees – they looked like they had thick white lines painted on them.

Have you had snow this week?

Posted in Uncategorized

An Animated Evening

Posted on by Jackie B

Nearly every month I take my Mum to the meeting of her Inner Wheel group. I always enjoy going but this week’s meeting was especially good

The guest speaker was artist and animator, Sheila Graber. I remember Sheila from a long time ago: she taught art when I was at school. She was a very popular teacher and ran after-school groups, including an Animation Club for pupils – we were sometimes shown the group’s films as well as Sheila’s work at the end of term. Eventually, she left teaching to work on her animation full-time

On Thursday night we were treated a compilation of some of these animations. The River Tyne featured strongly in Sheila’s work (she was born and brought up on Tyneside).

Image from The Tyne by Sheila Graber

My favourite was a charming film about a little boy playing with his cat in the snow (Sheila explained how this was inspired by her own cat). Other animals featured too: she made animated versions of Kipling’s Just-So Stories.

Image from “The Elephant’s Child” film by Sheila Graber (part of series: The just So Stories)

At the end of the evening my Mum bought me a copy of Sheila’s Book, My Tyneside, which she signed for me. We chatted and amazingly she remembered me from school. It was fun to remember some of my old teachers from back then.

Since the other night, I’ve read the book, which includes a load of Sheila’s pictures of my home town, South Shields. I’ve also been looking at her website and Youtube channel, where I found a film of an old school sports day. She’s done some amazing stuff and I’m hoping to get to an exhibition of her work that’s coming up later this year at The Customs House, South Shields.

Are there any inspirational teachers that you remember from your schooldays?

Posted in Uncategorized

Knit and Natter Friday 8th Feb

Posted on by Jackie B

Here are some of the beautiful clothes for premature babies that some of our group members have knitted this week.

We have collected quite a haul recently and one of the members has kindly agreed to take them down to the Royal Victoria Infirmary Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Newcastle. A batch has already been sent to to the Special Baby Care Unit at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, Cramlington

The group, which was set up as part of a social prescribing initiative, meets at Alnwick Medical Group Lower Building every Friday afternoon from 2.30-4pm. Tea/coffee and biscuits are provided. Group members work on either charity knits or their own projects. Support and tuition is also available for novice knitters.

Posted in Uncategorized

Cake (Not Scone) of the Week

Posted on by Jackie B

This week we visited the Old School Gallery at Alnmouth. Situated just outside the village centre on the road out towards Foxton, the Gallery has a small cafe area. They had no scones (so not exactly a “Scone of the Week” post} but five different cakes to choose from. I think they may have a bigger menu at busier times of year. Today we were the only customers there at the time of our visit.

We had a wander round to look at the art while our cake and coffee were being prepared and there were some lovely pieces, in a variety styles and media. They included a lot of seascapes and other sea-themed pictures. Many are available as prints and there a few other items too, including ceramics, textiles, cards and gifts.

The Gallery’s Spring Exhibition is currently being prepared ready for opening on 14th Feb so we could see many of the exhibits ready for hanging. My favourite was a huge seascape on canvas – I don’t know who the artist is but it was stunning.

Our home-baked cakes were excellent. I chose the lemon drizzle (one of my favourites) and Mum had the polenta and lime cake. Both were moist, light and full of flavour. For those preferring something with icing, there was coffee cake, chocolate, or victoria sponge. We had very nice Illy brand barista-style coffee to go with it.

The only issue with visiting the Gallery is the access. They have tried by creating a ramp from one of the entrance gates into the building , but then there is a single step inside, quite steep with no handrail. Apart from that it’s quite a nice place to visit.

We couldn’t visit Alnmouth without looking at the sea, so we drove down to the beach. It was a beautiful clear day and the sea looked almost inviting.

The afternoon sun lit up the Aln Estuary and shone on the wet sand.

As we drove away we saw one of the skiffs that are based in Alnmouth. Skiff racing is becoming quite popular around British coasts and as the boats are very traditional in design, this is keeping the old boat-building skills alive. They are quite often to be seen wheeled out of the boathouse by the beach like this and I love to see them.

It has been a week of seeing old friends. On Tuesday I had lunch with two fabulous former colleagues. It was so good to catch up (and far too long since we last got together). Later on I met a dear friend for coffee. She is off to Australia in a couple of weeks and I’m missing her already. Today we saw a lovely couple who live near my Mum for the first time in ages…..it turns out that this lady reads my blog! I didn’t realise. It was so nice to see them both.

Have you had any reunions recently or been back in contact with people after a long time without? I’d love to hear about it.

Posted in Uncategorized

My Own Personal Unicorn

Posted on by Jackie B

I’ve had the house to myself for most of the day, so I finished a project that has been hanging around since last Christmas. It’s a rather sweet needle felted unicorn, made from a kit I received as a gift. It was my first attempt at needle felting.

To a point, these kits are a bit of a cheat. If you were making this from scratch you’d make a skeleton or armature and needle felt over that, but this kit came with a polystyrene base, so it was just a case of making the legs and ears, covering the body/head shape and felting it all together. The instructions were not great: a sheet of tiny photographs and no explanatory text. Once I’d worked out what to do, I found there’s something very satisfying about wielding that felting needle, especially if you are in a bad mood. I did learn that getting carried away has its drawbacks however. If you miss it really hurts. Also, those needles break really easily.

The most fiddly part was the unicorn’s horn. This involved twisting some of the purple fibres and a white thread around a short piece of pipe cleaner and securing it with hot glue. I went for a more free-flowing mane and tail than the one on the box illustration, so they don’t look that similar. You finish it off with embroidered eyelashes. I love putting the eye on a toy or animal. I always take a lot of care getting the placement right – it seems to be the most important thing that brings it to life. I rather like it!

When I’d finished I looked out the window and there were seven collared doves in one of the trees in our garden. They usually seem to gather when it’s stormy to shelter from the weather. These three looked particularly cosy with their feathers all fluffed up.

I didn’t stay in the house all day: I nipped out to pick son up from Alnmouth Golf Club at Foxton and parked up with my knitting while I waited for him. I had a great view over the golf course towards Coquet Island. Being Mum’s Taxi does sometimes have its compensations!

Back home, Unicorn is now sitting in pride of place. I need to think of a suitable name for him/her. Any suggestions?

Posted in Uncategorized

Knit and Natter Friday #10

Posted on by Jackie B

It’s been another productive week for the Knit and Natter Group, who brought along these items for the charities we support. We meet every Friday from 2.30-4pm at Alnwick Medical Group’s Lower Building. Work in progress today included a jumper, a baby cardigan, a colourful bag, socks, and a hat to match the lovely purple and white premature baby coat in the picture.

We were talking about a tv programme that some of us saw the other night (about health). Apparently knitting is good for you! Of course we all knew that. If you learn new skills, then you lay down new neural pathways and that’s really good for your memory. Even experienced knitters are always learning new techniques. Reading patterns is a skill in itself, like learning a new language. Also, that gentle repetitive action of knitting has a calming effect (like doodling, or stroking a pet). Then there’s the social value of communal knitting and nattering and donating knitted items to charity. Basically its all great!

How do think knitting benefits you?

Posted in Uncategorized

Scone of the Week #7

Posted on by Jackie B

Today we returned to one of our favourite scone stops: The Rocking Horse Cafe at Rock Midsteads Farm. To get there from the A1 north of Alnwick, take the turn off for Christon Bank and after a few hundred yards you will see signs to follow for the cafe.

As usual we got a warm welcome. The Rocking Horse is one of the most dog-friendly cafes I know and many of the customers bring their four-legged friends along. Today the humans were joined by a Bedlington Terrier, a West and the cafe’s two resident border collies, Sam and Tess. Sam obviously thought that we were deprived as we didn’t have a dog with us, so he kept us company. What a friendly soul he is, and so well-behaved.

The cheese scones were as delicious as ever, served warm, with generous pats of butter and no foil wrappers to wrestle with. They were crumbly without being dry, with a good flavour and a decent crust. One of the best!

I ordered hot chocolate – and had a choice of types – either powder or proper chocolate. I went for the latter.

After a while of stirring the chocolate on the swizzle stick into the hot milk, it dissolved to make a deliciously chocolaty drink, perfect for a cold, blustery day.

I was sat next to the namesake rocking horse, so couldn’t resist taking a photo.

Since our last visit, one of the cafe staff, Janet, has opened a dog-grooming business next door and she splits her time between the two. Her new venture is called Hair of the Dog. I just love the name!

As we left, I noticed that the woods by the farm entrance were carpeted with snowdrops. Simply breathtaking.

I’m still under no illusion that winter is not over. Despite being so close to the sea, which can take the edge off the cold, we still get deep snow some winters, and little or none in other years. So far, all we’ve seen here in Northumberland this winter is a dusting on the tops of the Cheviots. Have you had snow where you are ? (Don’t forget to say where that is.)

Posted in Uncategorized

On the Coast: Ponies, Eider Ducks and Signs of Spring

Posted on by Jackie B

We had a drive up the coast today and came across these ponies on Annstead Dunes , a Northumberland Wildlife Trust nature reserve north of Beadnell. This was a small herd of six Exmoor Ponies, one of our native breeds. They were brought here some years ago as part of the reserve’s management plan. Several groups of ponies graze on the course grasses, which allows wildflowers to grow, improving the biodiversity of the site.

The Exmoors are very distinctive: bay with a pale “mealy” muzzle, pale underside and ring around the eye. We catch sight of them regularly when we drive up this stretch of coast, sometimes grazing, sometimes trotting along the dunes in a tight herd. It’s always lovely to see them.

We drove south to Howick, where there is a place to park by the Northumberland Coastal Path. K took the dog for a walk while I looked around to see what I could see and did some knitting.

The sea was quite calm, so conditions were reasonable for spotting whales and dolphins but nothing was about, and not many birds either, just a few gulls and a pair of eider ducks.

You can just make them out as dots on the water: the striking black and white male and the drab brown female. Eiders often mate for life. It’s too early in the for this pair to be breeding yet though.

With nothing else about, I got on with my knitting. I’m still making my socks -it’s a very compact portable project for knitting on the go.

There are some definite signs of spring about. We saw these winter aconites growing under a hedge on our trip out today.

All of a sudden there are clumps of snowdrops everywhere, including these in our garden. We do often get snow in February or even March, so winter will be with us for a while yet, but it always feels positive to see the first flowers of the year.

What is your favourite sign of spring?